Pope Francis is rarely seen so relaxed and amused: the head of the Catholic Church received the Italian filmmaker and comedian Roberto Benigni (70) on Wednesday. The two talked in the morning before the general audience, as the Holy See announced. "Look at the light he radiates," Benigni said in greeting the pontiff (85).

The Pope and the comedian, who celebrated worldwide success with his film "Life is Beautiful", have known each other for a long time and were very familiar at the meeting. It was only at Easter 2022 that both had participated in a TV show about the gospel.